ILTA Marks Debut of CTRL: The Coalition of Technology Resources for Lawyers

Coalition forms around open source philosophy to advance practical, technical solutions for the legal community

August 20, 2014 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Coalition of Technology Resources for Lawyers (CTRL), an open source industry forum focusing on the practical application of technology in the discovery process, introduced its formation at the International Legal Technology Association Conference 2014.

“CTRL is a forum where members of the eDiscovery ecosystem can come together to engage in meaningful conversations about technology and legal strategy beyond theoretical what-ifs and abstract suppositions, to pragmatic solutions based upon the realities of what attorneys and clients value, do, and need”

CTRL was formed to create a forum where an open source philosophy is used to incorporate the best ideas in the practice of law through a range of technological innovations. In this open source forum, legal practitioners of all experience levels can collaborate, use, modify and improve upon the ideas proffered by the coalition. This work product will be available for others to improve upon, with the ultimate goal to provide proactive guidance for practitioners who are confronted with the challenge of discerning practical solutions from academic theory.

“CTRL is a forum where members of the eDiscovery ecosystem can come together to engage in meaningful conversations about technology and legal strategy beyond theoretical what-ifs and abstract suppositions, to pragmatic solutions based upon the realities of what attorneys and clients value, do, and need,” said Steve Berrent CEO of eMag Solutions. “The hope is to recognize that while there is a need for a solid scientific foundation and learned analysis, there is also a need to be able to know how to leverage that foundation, practically, in every day work to further clients’ interests.”

Darin Sands, Shareholder with Lane Powell Attorneys and Counselors added, “right now there is a unique opportunity in the legal community to lay a new foundation for how eDiscovery and legal technology will be applied for years to come; not just for a select few, but for all legal practitioners. In forming CTRL, we seek to create a dynamic open source environment for judges and litigators to draw upon for practical, real-world guidance and to more fully achieve everyone’s goal of achieving just, speedy and inexpensive resolutions of legal disputes.”

Legal practitioners, whether outside counsel, in-house lawyers, litigation support professionals or vendors will all benefit by participating in CTRL. With cooperation, transparency, proportionality and other related principles now commonplace, CTRL was formed to help bring this advanced legal technology community to the next level. Drew Lewis, eDiscovery Counsel with Recommind said, “the group’s goal is to create a place where smart minds can come together, exchange ideas and then build on those ideas to improve the discovery process.”

Coalition of Technology Resources for Lawyers (www.CTRLinitiative.com) is an open source community for legal practitioners who are involved in eDiscovery, investigations and information governance. Sponsors of the initiative include the world’s leading law firms, enterprise software companies and litigation support providers.